Sea anemone (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) toxins: an overview. 2012

Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
CIMAR/CIIMAR, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas 177, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.

The Cnidaria phylum includes organisms that are among the most venomous animals. The Anthozoa class includes sea anemones, hard corals, soft corals and sea pens. The composition of cnidarian venoms is not known in detail, but they appear to contain a variety of compounds. Currently around 250 of those compounds have been identified (peptides, proteins, enzymes and proteinase inhibitors) and non-proteinaceous substances (purines, quaternary ammonium compounds, biogenic amines and betaines), but very few genes encoding toxins were described and only a few related protein three-dimensional structures are available. Toxins are used for prey acquisition, but also to deter potential predators (with neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity effects) and even to fight territorial disputes. Cnidaria toxins have been identified on the nematocysts located on the tentacles, acrorhagi and acontia, and in the mucous coat that covers the animal body. Sea anemone toxins comprise mainly proteins and peptides that are cytolytic or neurotoxic with its potency varying with the structure and site of action and are efficient in targeting different animals, such as insects, crustaceans and vertebrates. Sea anemones toxins include voltage-gated Na⁺ and K⁺ channels toxins, acid-sensing ion channel toxins, Cytolysins, toxins with Kunitz-type protease inhibitors activity and toxins with Phospholipase A2 activity. In this review we assessed the phylogentic relationships of sea anemone toxins, characterized such toxins, the genes encoding them and the toxins three-dimensional structures, further providing a state-of-the-art description of the procedures involved in the isolation and purification of bioactive toxins.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008387 Marine Toxins Toxic or poisonous substances elaborated by marine flora or fauna. They include also specific, characterized poisons or toxins for which there is no more specific heading, like those from poisonous FISHES. Marine Biotoxins,Phycotoxins
D010802 Phylogeny The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup. Community Phylogenetics,Molecular Phylogenetics,Phylogenetic Analyses,Phylogenetic Analysis,Phylogenetic Clustering,Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis,Phylogenetic Comparative Methods,Phylogenetic Distance,Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares,Phylogenetic Groups,Phylogenetic Incongruence,Phylogenetic Inference,Phylogenetic Networks,Phylogenetic Reconstruction,Phylogenetic Relatedness,Phylogenetic Relationships,Phylogenetic Signal,Phylogenetic Structure,Phylogenetic Tree,Phylogenetic Trees,Phylogenomics,Analyse, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic Comparative,Clustering, Phylogenetic,Community Phylogenetic,Comparative Analysis, Phylogenetic,Comparative Method, Phylogenetic,Distance, Phylogenetic,Group, Phylogenetic,Incongruence, Phylogenetic,Inference, Phylogenetic,Method, Phylogenetic Comparative,Molecular Phylogenetic,Network, Phylogenetic,Phylogenetic Analyse,Phylogenetic Clusterings,Phylogenetic Comparative Analyses,Phylogenetic Comparative Method,Phylogenetic Distances,Phylogenetic Group,Phylogenetic Incongruences,Phylogenetic Inferences,Phylogenetic Network,Phylogenetic Reconstructions,Phylogenetic Relatednesses,Phylogenetic Relationship,Phylogenetic Signals,Phylogenetic Structures,Phylogenetic, Community,Phylogenetic, Molecular,Phylogenies,Phylogenomic,Reconstruction, Phylogenetic,Relatedness, Phylogenetic,Relationship, Phylogenetic,Signal, Phylogenetic,Structure, Phylogenetic,Tree, Phylogenetic
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012615 Sea Anemones The order Actiniaria, in the class ANTHOZOA, comprised of large, solitary polyps. All species are carnivorous. Actiniaria,Actiniarias,Anemone, Sea,Anemones, Sea,Sea Anemone

Related Publications

Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
July 2016, Mitochondrial DNA. Part A, DNA mapping, sequencing, and analysis,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
July 2008, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
June 2024, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
October 2023, Zootaxa,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
January 2013, Zootaxa,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
February 1996, The Biological bulletin,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
February 2002, Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
August 2012, Cladistics : the international journal of the Willi Hennig Society,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
December 2002, The Journal of experimental zoology,
Bárbara Frazão, and Vitor Vasconcelos, and Agostinho Antunes
October 1994, The Biological bulletin,
Copied contents to your clipboard!